That philosophy -- going for talk television rather than traditional journalism for its evening lineup -- seems to suit MSNBC just fine.

Jeremy M. Gaines, a spokesman for MSNBC, told Journal-isms that Sharpton's ratings are up 18 percent from those of Cenk Uygur, the host Sharpton replaced eight weeks ago. The activist is averaging 649,000 viewers.

MSNBC President Phil Griffin, in announcing Tuesday that Sharpton will be permanent host of "PoliticsNation," said:

"I do worry about the deep relationship between Sharpton, MSNBC and the Obama Administration. This is not to say that any of these relationships are illegitimate. But one can't help but notice the 'Media Arms Race' taking place between the political right and left. On the right, we have Fox News and Rupert Murdoch's media empire conspiring to control the minds of millions of conservatives. On the left, we have MSNBC, who owns at least two black media outlets (Newsone.com and TheGrio.com). There is also the interesting relationship between TheRoot.com (owned by the Washington Post), which is run by long-time Obama supporter Henry Louis Gates.

"Corporate America is a capitalistic cannibal: It seeks to devour all things that might either promote or impede its pre-existing financial interest. One has to be concerned when black media outlets and public figures are too closely aligned with the interests that have long been a part of the oppression of African Americans. At the same time, having some access to those who control these entities may be good for the community. But when a field slave was invited into 'Massa's' house 200 years ago, you never knew if the slave was gaining power or if he was conceding power to the master."

"It was the most adrenaline possible pushing through your body,” Sidner told Lois Romano of the Daily Beast. "We didn’t need coffee or Coke or any of those things that we take to keep us going. Just feeling and seeing the excitement of the people and the celebratory blasts of massive gunfire -- just keeps you going. I haven’t lost my energy yet."

The nameplates of the Oakland (Calif.) Tribune and several of its sister newspapers will disappear under a reorganization announced Tuesday by the Bay Area News Group. As many as 40 to 50 newsroom layoffs are expected at the papers, and Tribune Editor Martin G. Reynolds told Journal-isms on Wednesday that his own role had not been determined.

The Oakland Tribune was owned from 1983 to 1992 by Robert C. and Nancy Maynard, who became the first African Americans to own a major metropolitan daily. But Reynolds noted that the Tribune's nameplate had been changed before. It was simply "the Tribune" in the 1980s and "The East Bay Today" with "Oakland Tribune" on the side when it was owned by the Gannett Co. in the early 1980s.

"As of November 2, the Contra Costa Times, Valley Times, San Ramon Valley Times, Tri-Valley Herald, San Joaquin Herald, and East County Times will be consolidated into The Times. The Oakland Tribune, Alameda Times-Star, Daily Review, Argus and West County Times will be consolidated into the East Bay Tribune. . . .

"In a press release first sent to employees this afternoon, the Bay Area News Group (BANG) referred to the consolidation as 'streamlining.' About 120 employees, out of 1500, will lose their jobs.

"BANG is also launching two new weekly newspapers, the Valley Journal (covering Alamo, Danville and San Ramon) and the Times-Herald (covering Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore and Sunol)."

Under the new arrangement, each newspaper will have a separate, stand-alone local news section, but the section will combine articles from all of the localities, rather than emphasizing news from any one of them.

Reynolds said BANG would try to reduce the number of layoffs by moving employees into more company-owned buildings. Expectations are that 40 to 50 of 250 editorial employees would be laid off, but that number could be smaller, he said. As for his own job, "that is something that is going to be determined as the management structure is defined. I've been assured that I'll have a role, but I'm not sure what that role will be, and I'll look forward to having that role determined and getting to work," Reynolds said.

He added, "I don't think people should get caught up in the name change. I'm still pleased there still is a Tribune."

"KNBC Channel 4, NBCUniversal's Los Angeles station, has been targeted by two Latino journalist groups who say the newsroom is discriminating against Latino anchors. And NBC's upcoming fall schedule shows a marked reversal from last season, when the merger was still pending and the network developed 'Undercovers' as well as other shows with minorities in major roles, such as 'Outlaw,' 'The Event' and 'Outsourced.' Those series were all casualties of low ratings, and the new pilots show few people of color in leading roles.

"Still, critics say they are waiting to be convinced. Leaders of the National Assn. of Hispanic Journalists and CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California are both adopting a wait-and-see posture toward KNBC. The groups, in two separate letters leaked to the website L.A. Observed, expressed unhappiness over the removal of anchor Ana Garcia from the 6 p.m. news, and the absence of Latino anchors from prime newscasts."

Julio Moran, executive director of CCNMA, told Journal-isms that his main concern, expressed in telephone calls to Robinson, was the absence of prime-time Latino anchors at KNBC. "Craig asked for six months" to address the complaint, Moran said.

"The panicked superintendent dialed 911, sending police and the FBI rushing to the building near Rutgers University on the afternoon of June 2, 2009. What they found in that first-floor apartment, however, was not a terrorist hideout but a command center set up by a secret team of New York Police Department intelligence officers.

"From that apartment, about an hour outside the department's jurisdiction, the NYPD had been staging undercover operations and conducting surveillance throughout New Jersey. Neither the FBI nor the local police had any idea.

"Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the NYPD has become one of the country's most aggressive domestic intelligence agencies. A months-long investigation by The Associated Press has revealed that the NYPD operates far outside its borders and targets ethnic communities in ways that would run afoul of civil liberties rules if practiced by the federal government. And it does so with unprecedented help from the CIA in a partnership that has blurred the bright line between foreign and domestic spying.

"Neither the city council, which finances the department, nor the federal government, which contributes hundreds of millions of dollars each year, is told exactly what's going on."

"Beginning at 6a.m. (ET), Holmes will anchor 'CNN Newsroom' from Washington, D.C. From 9a.m. to 1p.m. (ET), Crowley anchors a special edition of 'State of the Union.' CNN’s coverage of the dedication ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. (ET).

"CNN will broadcast 'Freedom’s Foot Soldiers: A Conversation with T.J. Holmes' Saturday, August 27 at 7:30 p.m. (ET). Holmes exclusively interviews Dr. King’s friends together in the basement of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to reflect on the life of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement then and now. In the very revealing, sometimes emotional interview with Juanita Abernathy, Xernona Clayton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-GA), Rev. Joseph Lowery and former U.N. Ambassador Dr. Andrew Young, these 'living legends' spoke of Dr. King’s desire to quit the movement and concentrate on writing and preaching, and the message the monument sends.

"On Sunday, August 28 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. (ET), CNN will air the documentary 'MLK: Words That Changed A Nation,' reported by O’Brien. For this documentary, O’Brien interviewed Dr. King’s closest confidants, including Dr. Young, Rep. Lewis, and activist Dorothy Cotton, for their behind-the-scenes insights into many of the historic events of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

" . . . Leading up to this historic memorial dedication, CNN will broadcast coverage through the day, entitled 'Building the Dream' beginning Thursday, August 25, with interviews from the witnesses of the assassination of Dr. King; a conversation with the survivors of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing (an attack that killed four girls in Birmingham, Alabama); a sneak peek of the collection being compiled for The National Museum of African American History and Culture; a look at the women behind the Civil Rights Movement; and the personal side of Dr. King from the eyes of his driver and personal assistant Tom Houck."

C-SPAN plans to air the dedication ceremony live at 11 a.m. Eastern time, re-airing at 9 p.m. on C-SPAN and C-SPAN Radio.

At noon Thursday, the network plans to air the Honoring Past, Present Future Pioneers Civil Rights Pioneers Luncheon "in recognition of those who dared to stand with Dr. King, those who dare to stand for the dream today, and those who dare future generations to continue to stand for social justice and equality."

On Friday at noon, C-SPAN plans to telecast the Women Who Dare to Dream Luncheon Honoring Women Civil Rights Leaders, "honoring the women of the Civil Rights Movement whose legacy of strength and dignity continues to inspire hope and special tribute to Coretta Scott King."

"Johnson, which publishes Ebony and Jet magazines and also sells cosmetics under its Fashion Fair label, said today that it has hired celebrity makeup artist Sam Fine as creative makeup director to help create products, give in-store appearances and launch his own Sam Fine product line for the company next year. Mr. Fine has worked for celebrities including Jennifer Hudson and Tyra Banks, but he got corporate experience at companies such as Revlon Inc.

"On Monday, Johnson said it hired Keirna Mayo as editorial director for Ebony's digital operations. She will work with Ebony Editor-in-Chief Amy DuBois to shape the content of Ebony.com and develop the brand across other platforms."

* Creditors of Inner City Media Corp., which owes creditors $254 million, according to a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, "said Pierre Sutton, the company's chairman and a son of Percy Sutton," a founder, "scuttled a proposed prepackaged bankruptcy that would have paid unsecured creditors in full, and allowed a small payment to equity holders, which is unusual when a company is insolvent," Tom Hals of Reuters reported Monday. "The creditors accused Pierre Sutton of rejecting the proposed deal to gain a bigger payout for himself, and ushering in new directors and replacing restructuring advisers who had recommended the prepackaged bankruptcy plan."

* Funeral services for Nick Ashford, the singer-songwriter who died Monday at age 70, are scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at Abyssinian Baptist Church, 132 Odell Clark Place (formerly 138th St.), between Lenox and Seventh avenues, New York. The church has a capacity of 1,500, a spokeswoman said.

* "Bill Moyers says he is returning to public television in January, but he won’t be found on the PBS lineup," Elizabeth Jensen reported Monday in the New York Times. "His new hourlong weekly show, called 'Moyers & Company,' will focus on one-on-one interviews with people not often heard on television, 'thinkers who can help us understand the chaos of this time,' Mr. Moyers said in a telephone interview. . . . The program will be based at WNET in New York City and distributed free to public television stations by American Public Television, an alternative distributor to PBS."

* Thami Mazwai, director of the Centre for Small Business Development at the University of Johannesburg, invoked the memory of the late South African editor Percy Qoboza, namesake of the award to a foreign journalist bestowed by the National Association of Black Journalists, in denouncing what Mazwai considered "gutter journalism." "To recall a little, and remind The Sowetan’s staff where the paper comes from: Qoboza extricated The World, The Sowetan’s predecessor, from the depths of sleaze journalism," Mazwai wrote Wednesday in South Africa's Business Day.